Despite the recent avalanche of stick aimed in Rangers’ direction, Shiels didn’t feel the League One champions had a point to prove against a Stenny outfit who were unbeaten in their previous 12 games.

He said: “Every match is the same because there is always pressure to win and to win well.”

While performances this term have not always been pretty, Saturday saw Rangers extend their unbeaten league run to 33 matches. They have scored 100 goals in the process – their best return for over 20 years.

Now with three games of the campaign left, Shiels is determined to ensure they finish undefeated.

He said: “We’re trying not to talk about it too much in case we jinx it.

“It has been a phenomenal effort and with only three games to go it’s hard not to think about it.”

Shiels weighed in with his ninth goal of a campaign that has seen him make just 18 appearances due to a combination of injury and being left on the sidelines despite being fully fit.

He added: “I’m disappointed because I missed a lot of games due to my knee injury. But I actually feel stronger now than at any time during the season and hopefully I can finish the campaign off well.”

Rangers may continue to struggle off the pitch as the squabbles between boardroom and fanbase rumble on.

And while there is a distinct lack of class off the park, for the first time in months there were some genuine signs of class on it at Ochilview.

Too many Rangers performances have been turgid this term yet there was real quality about three of the four goals scored by McCoist’s men.

There was the poise and panache of Shiels’ strike, the power and accuracy of Steven Smith’s stunner and the sheer quality of Nicky Law’s sublime curling effort. All three have been maligned at times this season but against Stenny they showed why they were brought to the club.

On a perfect afternoon for football the home side were actually quickest out of the traps and had a great chance to boost their play-off hopes in 10 minutes.

Ben Greenhalgh, once of Inter Milan, couldn’t have been any better placed when Sean Dickson whipped in a cross from the right flank. But Greenhalgh failed to get purchase on his effort from four yards and Cammy Bell got down and smother his shot.

Half way through the first period Richard Foster should have put Gers in front when a Jon Daly miscue dropped perfectly for him at the back post. With almost too much time to think about where he was going to put it, the defender ended up rushing, wildly, skewing into the side-netting.

Just as Rangers started to grow in confidence the deadlock was finally broken on the half hour, courtesy of goal machine Smith.

Daly created a sense of panic in the Stenny defence when rising highest to nod a loose ball across the face of goal. Law appeared perfectly placed to let loose only to receive a late call from Smith, who connected with venom and precision to hammer a stunning effort into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

Five minutes later the contest was as good as over when Shiels latched on to a Law through ball and sprung the offside trap with an expertly timed run. There was still work to be done as Chris Smith raced from his line although the Irishman kept his composure to guide his shot superbly beyond the advancing keeper with the outside of his right boot.

Any remote hope the home side had of staging a surprise comeback evaporated in 65 minutes when Robbie Duncan was shown a straight red card for hauling down Law in the box. The penalty call from ref John McKendrick was harsh and the dismissal even harsher.

But as the protests from the home team raged on, skipper Lee McCulloch calmly stepped up to net his 17th of an extremely productive season from the spot.

Twelve minutes from time, Law made it a century of league goals for the runaway champions with arguably the pick of the whole lot. Finding himself in space just outside the box, the midfielder cut in from the left before rifling a blistering curling drive into the top corner.

Assistant boss Kenny McDowall was delighted with the display and afterwards urged his players to keep it going for the remaining three matches of the campaign.

He said: “It’s vital we don’t take our foot off the gas.

“We have a great support that comes everywhere so we know we need to keep working until the season is finished. So far the players have shown that.

“It was a good performance and we’re delighted to play so well at this stage of the season.

“This is a difficult place to win at and the boys were excellent. It could have been more but we would have taken 4-0 before the game.”